FOLSOM, Calif. – St. Francis placed four runners in the top 16 overall to compile a first-place score of 77 points and capturing the program's 15th all-time Sac-Joaquin Section cross country championship at the Willow Hill Reservoir in Folsom Saturday afternoon.
Additionally, junior Jordan Brace led the junior varsity squad yet again while freshman Emilia Ryan led a superfecta at the top of the scoring in the D-III frosh-soph event.
Freshman Halle Welch placed ninth overall and tops among her Troubadour teammates in ninth place at 19 minutes, 51.1 seconds. Sophomore Sunny Schranz followed in 13th at 20:06.2, freshman Miya Menza right behind in 14th at 20:09.2, with freshman Sophia Kadel coming through the finish chute in 16th (20:16.6). Senior Mykaela Le rounded out the SF scoring with her 32nd-place 21:36.9, with two more seniors – Lucie Pickering Pick and Kyra Lueras – claiming the displacing finishes of 47th (22:17.9) and 62nd (24:01.7).
Trailing St. Francis for the two remaining CIF state meet berths were Del Oro and River Valley, which finished within a point of each other with 89 and 90 points, respectively. Oakdale then missed the cut with 101 points. Del Oro had enough strength at the top of its lineup to edge River Valley, thanks to the fifth-place finish of senior Claire Lesiw.
The varsity girls' race followed a second-place effort by the SF junior varsity, with junior Jordan Brace placing sixth overall with a time of 21:20.5. Ashley Sexauer, Chloe Harrison, Ashlyn Smith and Zoe Smith followed in a relatively tight pack of 10th-13th-14th-15th. MacKenzie Olmstead (38th) and Olivia Charles (63rd) completed the Troubies' JV seven.
St. Francis posted 41 points as a team in the all-division JV race, good for second behind Davis (17) and well ahead of third-place Bella Vista (89) and the only other D-III team in the event, Hilmar (126).
Finally, the Troubies claimed the top four individual places, put seven among the top 10 and 10 in the top 14 in a dominating team showing in the D-III frosh-soph to close out the day. Ryan, Mia Hollar, Sophia Hernandez and Emily Colonnello formed the 1-2-3-4 superfecta, with Lydia Stralen, Morgane Bertran and Makenna Miller coming through in an 8-9-10 group for the No. 5 SF scorer and the two displacing finishers.
This resulted in a team total of 16 points, one shy of the perfect score, and 33 ahead of second-place Del Oro.
2024 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Willow Hill Reservoir (Folsom, Calif.)
Division III girls events only • Winner plus SF finishers listed
DIVISIONS I-V JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS TEAM SCORES - 1. Davis, 17; 2. St. Francis, 41; Bella Vista, 89; 4. Whitney, 122; 5. Hilmar, 126; 6. Atwater, 136.
DIVISIONS I-V JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS INDIVIDUALS - 1. Jillian Mao, Oak Ridge, 20:52.2... 6. Jordan Brace, 21:20.5; 10. Ashley Sexauer, 21:45.0; 13. Chloe Harrison, 22:10.4; 14. Ashlyn Smith, 22:12.1; 15. Zoe Smith, 22:23.6; 38. MacKenzie Olmstead, 25:05.9; 63. Olivia Charles, 28:49.5.
DIVISION III VARSITY GIRLS TEAM SCORES - 1. St. Francis, 77; 2. Del Oro, 89; 3. River Valley, 90; 4. Oakdale, 101; 5. Elk Grove, 149; 6. Roseville, 152; 7. Sierra, 174; 8. Tracy, 181; 9. Nevada Union, 189; 10. Twelve Bridges, 196.
DIVISION III VARSITY GIRLS INDIVIDUALS - 1. Emmy Angelo, Ponderosa, 18:48.4... 9. Halle Welch, 19:51.1; 13. Sunny Schranz, 20:06.2; 14. Miya Menza, 20:09.5; 16. Sophia Kadel, 20:16.6; 32. Mykaela Le, 21:36.9; 47. Lucie Pickering Pick, 22:17.9; 62. Kyra Lueras, 24:01.7.
DIVISION III FROSH-SOPH GIRLS TEAM SCORES - 1. St. Francis, 16; 2. Del Oro, 49; 3. Elk Grove, 75; 4. Lathrop, 126; 5. Florin, 129.
DIVISION III FROSH-SOPH GIRLS INDIVIDUALS - 1. Emilia Ryan, St. Francis, 13:31.2... 2. Mia Hollar, 13:42.5; 3. Sophia Hernandez, 14:08.6; 4. Emily Colonnello, 14:11.9; 8. Lydia Stralen, 14:24.2; 9. Morgane Bertran, 14:28.2; 10. Mackenna Miller, 14:34.9; 11. Lily Fowler, 14:38.0; 13. Rey Becerril, 14:50.5; 14. Skye Smith, 14:54.0; 21. Alyssa Tafoya, 15:43.9.
